


Future Starts Slow

by amethyst-noir (Arbonne)



Series: Prompt Collection [7]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Acephobia, Asexual Character, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, Sort Of, in the past because Tony isn't an asshole, it's Stephen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-15 23:34:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16073708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arbonne/pseuds/amethyst-noir
Summary: After a ton of flirting from both sides Tony finally makes his move. But Stephen chooses to run away instead of responding. Tony wants to know why.





	Future Starts Slow

**Author's Note:**

> I got this ask:  
>  _OH GOD would you write asexual Stephen with Tony? Where he is also sure he will never find anyone and Tony won't want him when he finds out Stephen doesn't want sex?_
> 
> Well, this is my answer to that. It's a touchy subject for a lot of people so please keep in mind that, as almost everywhere in life, opinions and experiences are different for everyone. (Title, song by The Kills, bla bla bla. I'll never be original with titles.)

The first few times it happened, Tony barely noticed. He was used to people flirting with him and he knew that most of the time there was nothing serious behind it. He responded in kind, cultivating the air of a playboy and after a while it became a reflex. Most of the time he didn't even have to think about it anymore - a nice smile, a subtle comment here, an outrageous offer there… it was a public persona, nothing more. Sure, sometimes he took people - mostly women, but a few men, too - up on their offers. He almost never _made_ the offers, but it didn't make a difference. It was always fun, everybody knew that it was a one-time-only thing and moved on with their lives.

Then he met Doctor Stephen Strange. Who became Strange after a short while and just Stephen after he came back from the dead. The flirting was there, surprisingly it was initiated most often by Stephen, but it was always harmless, grounded in a strong friendship. Gentle and playful with no undertone of something more. It was a mutual game they both enjoyed and that was it.

Harmless, until the moment Tony realized he'd managed to fall in love with his new friend. Suddenly he saw the flirting in a different light and started to react accordingly. Made overtures, offers. Tried to move them on to the next, logical level.

But Stephen? Didn't react well to that, just the opposite. Instead of responding he ran away. Over and over again. Tony was left behind; hurt, confused and worried. Mostly worried. And determined to not let Stephen slip away like some fata morgana.

*

When Stephen finally stepped through the portal that brought him back home he was filthy, exhausted, bruised and just wanted to sleep for about a thousand years. Instead he was confronted with a determined Tony Stark waiting in the library. For a moment he entertained the idea of stepping back into the dimension he just came from but the Cloak pulled against him until the portal closed behind them.

 _Guess we're doing this then_ , he thought with bitter resignation. He didn't have to be a genius to know why Tony was here and he'd delayed things for far too long already. He owed it to Tony to be honest and while he'd have preferred to do so when he was rested and not hurting all over he was used to not getting what he wanted. "Just get it over with." He didn't know if he said the words to himself or Tony.

"Get what over with?" Tony had come nearer, but not as close as he would have just a few weeks ago. The predictable reaction hurt but Stephen tried not to show it. It was nothing new, after all. "Are you okay? Do you need help? What can I do for you?" That was… unexpected and Stephen's tired brain couldn't really process the words, so unlike the ones he'd foreseen and just switched into standby. "Stephen?" Tony finally came closer and after a moment of hesitation put his hands on Stephen's shoulders. "Hello? Somebody home?"

"Tony," he finally brought himself out of his stupor. "Sorry. I'm just tired. Can we do it later?"

"Can we do what later?"

"The interrogation. That's what you're here for, isn't it? You want to know why?" _Why I ran away the moment you tried to kiss me?_ The words were on the tip of his tongue but something held him back, just as every time before.

Tony looked at him as he was brain-damaged. Stephen felt like it too, at the moment, if he was honest with himself. "Stephen. I'm here because I miss you and I worry about you. And by the looks of you I was right to do that. So whatever stupid ideas you've got in your beautiful mind right now: Forget them. We'll get you cleaned up and into bed. We can do everything else when you can think clearly again."

 _Beautiful mind_ , he repeated silently. It was stupid but the simple phrase almost brought tears to his eyes. Most of the times before he'd been reduced to his body. He gratefully accepted Tony's help to get to his room. Tony's hands on his body felt good like never before, probably because he knew it would be the last time he'd ever feel them. He wanted to wrap himself around the man, get himself crushed in a hug strong enough to bruise him. He wanted so many things but still not enough. Never enough, never the right ones. He swallowed hard and managed to keep the tears down until he was under the shower. He couldn't taste them there.

"Thank you," he said later, after he'd showered and felt a little bit more like himself. He'd made sure to dress in the bathroom, it would be cruel to needlessly tease Tony who was waiting in his bedroom. He was standing at the doors to the terrace, looking out into the night. He turned around and smiled slightly when he saw Stephen.

"You're looking better. Not quite as much in danger of just falling over." He came closer again, but still held himself at a careful distance. "We'll talk tomorrow?"

Stephen sat down on the bed and looked up at Tony. It was an unusual position but he felt so vulnerable already that it didn't matter. "Tomorrow," he confirmed softly, thankful for the reprieve. He wanted it to be over but recognized that it would be better to talk about things in the cold light of day and in a neutral setting, like the library. Plus, he really needed to sleep first. "I'll call you when I'm up." Maybe he could sleep through the next few decades and be spared this ordeal. _As if._

Tony came closer, towering over him. "I'll be there. Anytime. Just call me." He hesitated for another moment, clearly debating something with himself, before he reached out and softly touched Stephen's check. Stephen instinctively leaned into the gentle contact and sighed, unable to say anything. The tears threatened again. "Sleep well," Tony said, smiling. He left and the Cloak followed him to let him out of the Sanctum.

Stephen suddenly felt cold and very, very alone. He still fought against the tears but when the Cloak came back and wrapped itself around him he couldn't hold them back any longer. The Cloak did it's best to console him but it was cold comfort.

*

_What happened to you? Did somebody hurt you? Maybe if you just tried it? Then they were just the wrong person!_

Stephen, in the few instances he'd confessed his secret someone else, had always, always gotten one or more of those questions back. Every time he'd dared to fall in love with someone they'd reacted with incomprehension or outright disgust whenever he'd told them that he just wasn't interested in sex. He wanted cuddling, he wanted to be touched with care and gentleness, he wanted to hold hands, he wanted to read together on a rainy afternoon, he wanted to talk and share a bed and his life with the man the loved, he wanted kisses, but not those disgusting ones with spit and tongue and he really, definitely didn't want to…

 _You don't have to do anything. You're pretty enough that you just have lay back and let me do the rest._ That one had been the most vile and disgusting reaction he'd ever gotten and he'd emptied his water glass into the guy's lap, turned around and walked away without another word, his head held high. The alternative had been to slap the other man in the face and his hands had been far too precious back then.

That was no longer the case but the accident that had robbed him of almost everything had at least freed him from the threat of sexual intercourse. Nobody in their right mind would want him in any way, least of all sexual, so it was best to bury his hopes for a partner in the same grave as his medical career and just focus on the mystical side of life and the new friendships he'd found. After all, there was nothing else for him.

*

Stephen had thought to just get it over with in the quickest and most painless way possible. "I'm asexual," he'd said when Tony had come over for tea the next day. Nothing more. No further explanations, no excuses. Just the plain truth. He'd waited for the inevitable reaction, the sorry, the offer of continued friendship and the goodbye. He didn't really expect one of the questions; he'd had a far too high opinion of Tony, who had shown his thoughtful, sensitive side on so many other topics that Stephen couldn't imagine him being this cruel now.

He'd gotten nothing of the above. Instead Tony looked at him as if he'd just given him the greatest epiphany in the history of mankind, followed by a sigh of relief. "So it's not _this_ you're running from," he'd taken Stephen's trembling hand into his own steady one, "it's the stuff you're afraid might follow." He took his other hand too, gently tracing patterns over the skin. Stephen could barely feel them but it was still _nice_. Tony made no other overtures. "Tell me what you like", he'd said instead.

And Stephen, for the first time in his life, had to try to actually articulate what he wanted from a partner. It had been almost impossible to put the vague thoughts he'd always shoved aside before into words but he somehow managed it. 

*

The tea and the room had grown cold when Stephen finally stopped speaking and the Cloak had enveloped them both for warmth. Stephen was pressed against Tony, his head on Tony's shoulder, their fingers entwined. It felt _right_ and Tony finally realized just how much tension Stephen had always carried with him before. He still wanted too many things, more than Stephen could give him as he now knew, but he would find a way. He could be who Stephen needed him to be. He loved just _being_ with Stephen; he had always loved cuddling - maybe more than was acceptable for a man - and Stephen had promised to tell him when he went too far. He could and would learn to read the signs, to not push for more than Stephen was comfortable with.

"I'm almost fifty," he'd said when Stephen had tried to protest that he deserved someone who could give him everything he wanted and needed, "I've had more than enough sex in my life. It's time for other things, now." He'd find a way. There were always the shower and his hands. He'd manage. Somehow. He could be stubborn when he really, really wanted something and he wanted this. Them. With everything he had. They could and would work out everything else in time.

Stephen smiled at him and, after a moment of hesitation, snuggled a little bit closer. The simple gesture of pure trust had almost broken Tony's heart and he swore to be worthy of it. "Stephen?" he asked softly and fell in love all over again when Stephen looked up. His eyes were still a little glassy, his lashes wet and he was the most beautiful creature Tony had ever seen. He wanted to ask but didn't know how to do so without being an insensitive idiot. They'd just talked about boundaries, after all. Thankfully, Stephen seemed to able to read his mind. He smiled at Tony and nodded his consent.

Tony pressed a soft kiss against Stephen's forehead. It felt like heaven.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted [here.](https://amethyst-noir.tumblr.com/post/177796834691/a-few-days-ago-i-got-this-message-from-anon-oh/)


End file.
